Greeky Gyros

I love a good gyro. I couldn’t tell you when I had my first one, or even when I had my last, but I like them. I’ve made them a few times at home; always with the traditional lamb as my meat. So when I saw a recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen pop up on my Pinterest feed, I knew I would get it into the meal plan pretty quickly. Like Kalyn, we also enjoyed the gyros in a lettuce wrap instead of a traditional pita, but instead of making meatballs, I decided to make my meat into a meatloaf form and then grill it off quickly on the stove top to get a yummy caramelized flavor. I also made my own tzatziki and Greek seasoning because real food tastes better. (And it is cheaper…post on that soon.)

There is a tiny bit of advance work if you choose to make your own tzatziki, because it has to sit for a few hours at least to develop the flavors. But, it’s pretty simple and you could knock it out before you leave for work. Grate an English cucumber into a paper towel and give it a good squeeze to get the water out. (Why English? I don’t know but every recipe agrees.) In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt, two minced cloves of garlic, a little lemon zest, the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, salt and pepper. If you have fresh dill, add that. If you have dill seed, add a little of that. Cover and let it sit.

Dinner time… Make your Greek seasoning. There is no need to buy it, you likely have these things on hand. If you don’t substitute or leave them out.

Now, you’ll want to finely chop (or food process) one small onion. Add it to 1 pound of ground beef along with a generous tablespoon of Greek seasoning. Mix it up like you are making meatloaf (you are).

Place it in a loaf pan and into the oven for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Chop some tomatoes and cucumbers while you wait. And crumble some feta if yours isn’t pre-crumbled. You’ll also want to wash either romaine or iceburg leaves to serve as your “wrap.”

Once your meat is cooked — and this is important — turn it out to a cutting board and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I did not. That is why I can’t slice it nicely. No matter, tastes the same.

Slice your meat into strips and grill them until you get those nice char marks on the side.

Assemble by adding the meat, tzatziki, feta, cucumber and tomato to your wrap. Hope for leftovers so you can have these for lunch the next day. (There won’t be.)